Chilean Hotdogs: Completo Chileno

These large sandwiches are common fast food and street food in Chile, but they aren't truly "fast food" at home, unless you've already got everything in the refrigerator and all you have to do is toast the buns briefly and cook the hotdogs. Chileans often use homemade mayonnaise* for their "completo" (some make their own bread rolls too). These hotdogs are boiled, not grilled or fried. "Salsa Americana" is a condiment sauce or relish of onion, carrot, cucumber and seasonings often used by Chileans, especially for a "completo."** Sauerkraut is not always used, but many Chileans love it on hotdogs, although the avocado is then "supposed to be" omitted, but since both toppings are popular, many people opt for both avocado*** and sauerkraut.

 

I seldom buy mayonnaise or mustard in squeeze bottles, so I use a spoon for each, and for the salsa Americana and mashed avocado.

Ingredients (4 servings):

 

4 hotdogs 

4 bread rolls

1/3 cup chopped fresh tomato

1/4 cup finely chopped white onion

1 large avocado, mashed with a teaspoon or 2 of lime juice (or lemon juice) and a pinch of salt

salsa Americana (see link below for the recipe)

sauerkraut

mayonnaise (it's my understanding, Chileans don't skimp on adding mayo)

(optional) mustard

(optional) ketchup 

 

In a skillet or a pan, use enough water to completely cover the hotdogs, then bring the water to a boil; adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook the hotdogs until well heated through. 

Heat a skillet over medium heat and open the hotdog buns/rolls and place them down to toast them briefly. You can certainly put the various toppings (condiments) onto the hotdogs however you choose, but I prefer to spread the bread rolls with the mashed avocado, then I add some chopped tomato and chopped onion, then some salsa Americana topped with sauerkraut, and then some mustard and ketchup, and finally the mayonnaise. Ah... you'll need some napkins. 

 

* To make your own mayonnaise, here is the link to the recipe: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2022/06/homemade-mayonnaise.html 

 

** For the recipe for "Salsa Americana," here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2022/06/chilean-salsa-americana-american-sauce.html 

 

*** A Latino acquaintance mixes his mashed avocado with lime juice, so that's what I used here, but you can certainly use lemon juice instead, but it will be a bit more tart. The thing is, if you've never used avocado, it has to have some acidic component, or it will begin to turn dark; so, either lemon, lime or vinegar can be used. When I was at my friend's house, he told me the avocado needed acid, but then he raised hell with me when his flashlight wouldn't work, and he said you don't use flashlight battery acid. That scolding was bad enough, and I won't even tell you how mad he was when his car wouldn't run; so, no, you don't use acid from your car's battery either. Damn, I wish these people would say what they mean. hahaha   

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Complete-This prefixed word means, "fulfilled, lacking nothing, finished," and the main part of the word is distantly related to "fill" and to "full," both words from the Germanic roots of English, and it is related to the main parts of "replenish" and "supply," and to "plenty," all Latin-derived words borrowed by English from French, and to "depletion," another Latin-derived word, but borrowed by English directly from Latin. The "com" prefix goes back to Indo European "kom" which meant, "beside, near, together," and this gave Latin both "con" and "com," with the idea of "together, with," and the "com-" and "con-" forms sometimes were reduced to "co-." The main part of the word goes back to Indo European "pel/pleh," which had the notion of "sufficient, full, enough, complete." This gave Latin "plere," meaning "to fill," and with the prefix, "complere," meaning "to fill up, to fill out, to fulfill." A participle form of the word was "completus," also used as an adjective, and from this, French had the adjective "complet," meaning "full, total." English borrowed the word in the latter part of the 1300s as "compleet/complet," from some combined borrowing from Latin and French. The adjective spawned the verb "completen" circa 1400, and this then became "(to) complete," meaning "to fulfill, to make whole or full, to totally finish."  

Chilean Salsa Americana (American Sauce)

This Chilean sauce is an important part of Chile's food scene, especially as one of the toppings for one of the most popular Chilean foods, hotdogs; that is, more specifically, "Completo Chileno" (I am working on an article about these), or "Complete Chilean." There are variations in recipes for this sauce, and some add more ingredients, but sometimes keeping things simple is better. You can blend this sauce until smooth or leave it a little chunky. You don't want a lot of the cooking water added to the cooked vegetables, or the sauce will be runny. DUH! While not traditional, I use a little sugar in the sauce, as strong sour flavors are not something I really care for. So, I included this option for others who may want to tame the sourness a bit. 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup chopped carrot

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped cucumber (if the cucumber has large seeds, use a spoon to scrape them out)

2 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon Spanish sweet paprika

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/4 cup water for cooking, with 1 level tablespoon salt

2 to 5 tablespoons reserved cooking water 

(optional) 1 teaspoon sugar (or to taste)

The carrot, onion and cucumber don't have to be finely chopped, just cut up, and the garlic cloves can be left whole, as everything will later be blended. Put the chopped vegetables (carrot, onion, cucumber and garlic) into a pan with the salted water, bring to a boil, adjust to a steady simmer, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the veggies are softened, but not mushy. Let this cool down somewhat, drain and reserve the cooking water, then put the cooked vegetables into a blender or use a stick blender, add 1/4 cup white vinegar, 2 tablespoons of the reserved cooking water, 2 tablespoons olive oil, Spanish sweet paprika and sugar (if using), blend until smooth (or leave it a little chunky, if you prefer). If the sauce is too thick, add more cooking water by the tablespoon until you reach the desired consistency.

 

WORD HISTORY:

Total-The origin of this word is unknown. It goes back to the Latin adjective "totus," which meant "all, everything together, entire," and this produced Latin "totalis," "entire, everything together, absolute," and this was taken by Old French as "total" and English borrowed the word in the latter part of the 1300s. The noun form developed in the mid 1500s with the meaning "the sum, the complete amount." The verb form is from the first quarter of the 1700s with the meaning "to come to the entire amount of, to add numbers to come to a sum." The adverb "totally," meaning "in a complete way," developed in the early 1500s (1510?).   

Chilean Sangria: Borgoña

"Borgoña" means "Burgundy" in Spanish, and in Chile their "Carménère" red wine is commonly used for this Chilean form of Sangria; so, if you have access to this wine, by all means, use it; otherwise, a Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon will do just fine. While Borgoña is really a common summer drink in Chile, with the Christmas and New Year's holiday season upon us, why not try some now? For those unaware, since Chile is a South American country; and thus, in the Southern Hemisphere, countries in that hemisphere officially enter summer in December, just as we in the Northern Hemisphere officially enter winter in December. Cointreau and triple sec are orange flavored alcoholic products. In Chile, some use their own brandy called "Pisco." 

Ingredients:

1 bottle red wine (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 1/2 to 2 cups sliced or chopped fresh strawberries
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar (if your strawberries are super sweet, use 1 tablespoon sugar)
1/4 cup Cointreau or Triple Sec or Pisco
ice

Put the sliced/chopped strawberries into a bowl, add the sugar and mix to coat the berries. Add the Cointreau, Triple Sec or Pisco and let the berries sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Empty the wine into a pitcher, then stir in the strawberry mixture. Refrigerate the Borgoña for a minimum of 3 hours, but it is better if it is left in the refrigerator until the next day. Add some ice to each serving, especially in warm weather.

WORD HISTORY:
Alligator-The ultimate origin of the main part of this word is unknown. It goes back to Latin "lacertus," meaning "lizard." This gave Spanish "lagarto," with the grammatically masculine definite article being "el," which goes back to Latin "ille," meaning, "that one, he, she, it;" thus also, the definite article "the," which developed from Indo European "hol-no," meaning, "that, beyond this, beyond here, yonder." The Spanish form "el lagarto" was used to describe and to name the lizard like creature of the New World. In the second half of the 1500s, English speakers took the word as the misunderstood form "aligarto," then modified to "alligater," before the form that has endured up to modern times, "alligator," although the pronunciation by most English speakers is as if the ending is "ter," not "tor."